Eight months after a NSW man was allegedly gunned down in front of his elderly father during a botched early morning home invasion, detectives have charged two men with murder.

Robbie Parry, 41, was allegedly shot with a .22 sawn-off rifle about 3am on Saturday, March 7 in the front room of his home in Wickham, in Newcastle’s inner city.

The bullet struck a vital artery and when paramedics arrived at the Dickson Street home a short time later they were unable to revive him.

Mr Parry, a well-known figure in the Wickham community, lived with his elderly father Al who was also allegedly confronted by the bandits.

Opening his bedroom door to investigate the commotion, the older man was allegedly threatened by an armed man, who then fled the single-level house.

In the wake of the death detectives formed Strike Force Telagaree – made up of Newcastle detectives and senior investigators from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad – while locals struggled to comprehend why the likeable sometimes barman and handyman with a hearing impairment had been allegedly murdered.

Today officers from the strike force announced they had charged two men with murder, following an “extensive investigation”.

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A 22-yearold man was arrested at Silverwater, west of Sydney, yesterday while another 22-year-old was arrested this morning at Cessnock in the NSW Hunter region.

In addition to the murder charges, police also charged the men with a range of offences, including aggravated enter dwelling with intent to commit a serious indictable offence, robbery in company, demanding money and a host of firearm offences.

Both men were refused bail to face Newcastle Local Court today.

In September, detectives also searched a home in the Newcastle beachside suburb of Redhead where they allegedly found a .22 sawn-off rifle, a .410 sawn-off shotgun, a replica pistol and a cache of ammunition.

A 21-year-old man was arrested at the home and will face court on November 18 on a range of weapons offences.

Police alleged the raid and seizure allowed them to track down the two men charged with murder.

Mr Parry worked part time at the nearby Croatian Wickham Sports Club, sat on the club’s board and was also well known to locals of the tight-knit, bohemian suburb.